


smack bang in the middle of everything

by painttheworldinpastels



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Musicals, Performing Arts, Theatre, the nohyuck theater kids au no one needed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-24 00:03:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19712248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painttheworldinpastels/pseuds/painttheworldinpastels
Summary: Love doesn't creep up on Jeno, it hits him smack bang in the nose when he looks at Donghyuck one day and thinks "Oh."Or years and years of friendship blossoming into something more with the help of terrible lighting, a storage room, and everything that happens in the theater club.





	smack bang in the middle of everything

Donghyuck is a star, shining bright in the heavens. High above the earth, high above him. Jeno knows this from the moment they met, though young Jeno wasn't aware of it yet.

Jeno remembers a cute, curly-haired Donghyuck holding onto his mother's hand as she talked to Jeno's mother. Donghyuck's family had just moved from Jeju, and Jeno's mother had invited Donghyuck's inside for some snacks and a quick chat as soon as they had settled in. They were walking around Jeno's house, eventually settling next to the grand piano in the living room as Jeno's mother showed the visitors the current wallpaper which she had planned on replacing. His mother babbled on about floor plans and renovations and interiors, things that did not interest Jeno whatsoever. Jeno stood next to his mother, his hand enclosed in hers, bored out of his mind and just wanting to go back to his room where his legos were scattered on the floor and waiting for him.

Jeno's first impression of Donghyuck is that he's scary. Though Donghyuck looked like he couldn't hurt a fly, wearing overalls a bit too big on him with the straps slipping off his shoulders, Donghyuck stared at Jeno intently, way more intense than anyone has looked at him. Five-year-old Jeno is terrified, and he tightened his grip on his mother's hand and shuffled behind her to avoid Donghyuck's gaze.

Jeno's thoughts ran wild. He doesn't like it here - why is he even here? His mother obviously doesn't require his participation in their grown-up conversation, though he felt her nudge him towards Donghyuck, who was staring at something on one of the shelves, sucking lightly on his pinky finger and occasionally biting down on it. Huh, maybe he was still hungry? Jeno's mother had prepared snacks for them earlier but Jeno would understand if he didn't feel full yet, since all they got was a smaller serving of spaghetti than Jeno's mother would usually give because it was approaching nighttime and apparently lots of food would spoil their appetites for dinner.

Jeno's mother gave him another firm nudge and he realized that she wants him to befriend the new kid of course, because good neighbors always make new arrivals feel welcome.

Except that Jeno is  _ not _ a good neighbor. His parents might be, but Jeno tripped on the concrete porch stairs while introducing themselves to the people who moved across the street a couple of months back, and that resulted in a scraped knee and a chipped front tooth. After that incident Jeno refused to leave his house, believing meeting new people gives him bad luck. His parents couldn't convince him to change his thoughts on it because Jeno loves riding his trike around the neighborhood but he couldn't do that for three weeks due to the pain in his knee, and those were the worst three weeks of his six years of existence.

This time, however, the people were in his house and he had nowhere else to go. Jeno pressed his forehead to his mother's thigh. He was tired of socializing, and all he really wanted to do is lock himself in his room and finish stacking up all of his lego bricks into a really tall tower to see if all of his legos combined could reach the ceiling.

Jeno's thoughts shut down when he felt someone tugging on his shirt sleeve. Donghyuck was now standing next to him, still looking at him like he was an interesting bug.

"Is that you?" Donghyuck asked, talking around the finger still in his mouth. He pointed at a framed baby picture of Jeno sitting on one of the glass shelves with his unoccupied hand.  _ Ah, so that's what he was staring at. _

Jeno nodded slowly, afraid to let out any sounds. Jeno felt Donghyuck's gaze pierce into his soul, and his spirit was cowering in a corner of his body as they speak.

Donghyuck tilted his head slightly to the right. "You looked better in the picture."

Jeno's mother let out a surprised laugh and Donghyuck's mother quickly gathered her son back to her side, telling him off and apologizing to Jeno's mother, who brushed it off as an entertaining remark with a soft shake of her head and a wide smile directed at Donghyuck. It's too bright a smile and Jeno doesn't think Donghyuck deserves it, and he doesn't see where the entertaining part of Donghyuck's comment is because all he feels is offense. Jeno frowned at Donghyuck and turned away from him completely, removing his hand from his mother's hold and wrapping both of his arms around her legs instead. Jeno's mother ignored him clinging to her like a koala as she and Donghyuck's mother continued talking about what plants would be nice to put around the house.

At that moment, Jeno decided that he hated Donghyuck and never wanted anything to do with him ever again.

But when their eyes met again, Donghyuck's face broke out into a huge smile with both rows of teeth showing. He has several crooked teeth, Jeno noticed. Donghyuck's front teeth were a bit smaller than his other teeth, and they made him look kind of like a rabbit.

Donghyuck tilted his head again, and the action made him look like a puppy.

A very annoying puppy. Personally, Jeno prefers cats.

Honestly, Jeno began to think that Donghyuck was his very own special species of animal. He had bunny teeth, his face was small like a deer's, and he acted like a dog.

Maybe Donghyuck was an alien?

"There's sauce on your face."

"Huh?" Jeno saw Donghyuck pointing at his face with a chubby finger, the one that had been covered in saliva just a few minutes ago. Gross.

"You have sauce on your face." Donghyuck moved closer to him and reached out to poke his cheek. Jeno quickly stepped back, glaring at him. How dare he lie-

Jeno's mother chuckled and leaned down to wipe the corner of his lips. "My messy boy, didn't I teach you to wipe your mouth properly?" Her tone was fond but everything about this scenario was embarrassing, because there really was sauce on his face and he probably looked like an angry cub and Donghyuck was laughing at him. Donghyuck's laugh was loud and kind of jarring, especially to a kid like Jeno who thrived in silence, but it wasn't terrible.

Jeno stared at him until he calmed down, and he was still giggling when Jeno's mother told Jeno to take him to his room and play there. Jeno glared at his mother, but she just shooed him away.

(Before they went up the stairs, Jeno's mother promised him candy afterwards so Jeno isn't too upset with being exiled to his room, which is where he wanted to be in the first place anyway.)

Donghyuck stood next to the door as Jeno pushed the legos strewn around haphazardly with his feet. "Sorry for the mess," he mumbled as Donghyuck sat down on the floor, right next to Jeno's lego tower. Jeno hoped he wouldn't knock it over, because it took him over two hours to get it to stand as tall as it currently did, which was up to Jeno's shoulder.

Jeno flopped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. What would be an appropriate topic to talk about? Only the adults used the weather to start conversations, and only boring people introduced themselves like they do during the first day of class. Maybe Jeno should compliment Donghyuck first? Tell him his hair looked messy but at least it's not a bird's nest like his neighbor Jaemin's-

"Do you have any more of these?" Donghyuck asked Jeno, waving a red lego brick. Jeno looked to see the floor devoid of legos and a small lego tower in front of Donghyuck. He was still a bit wary of Donghyuck but someone who appreciates legos can't be a bad guy, right? So he pulled out his plastic tub of legos and pushed the container towards Donghyuck, who immediately stuck his hand inside and pulled out a handful of bricks.

"What's this supposed to be?" Donghyuck moved to nudge Jeno's tower but Jeno slapped his hand away. "Don't touch that!" Jeno yelled as he bracketed his arms around the very stable tower that was not in need of any protection whatsoever since Donghyuck didn't really do anything. He glared at Donghyuck as he eyed his tower carefully. Nothing was damaged, not a single brick out of place from what it had looked like before he brought a stranger in and let him sit next to his special creation. 

Donghyuck looked stricken as he rubbed the hand Jeno had hit, and Jeno instantly felt bad. He could already hear his mother's voice in his head scolding him and nagging at him to apologize, but a part of Jeno thought he deserved it because he did just call Jeno ugly thirty minutes ago.

Donghyuck's shoulders drooped and he stood and dusted himself off, sniffing slightly as he headed for the door. And while Jeno from ten minutes ago would have wanted him to go and never come back, present Jeno would get chewed out by his mother if she saw Donghyuck going downstairs with sadness and unshed tears in his big doe eyes.

"Wait, I'm sorry, please stay!" Jeno gently removed his arms from around his tower and ran towards the door, spreading his arms wide and blocking the exit. Donghyuck was pouting now, and Jeno thought he looked like a duck. Huh, Donghyuck the Duck. Duckie. Jeno liked the ring of it.

"You hit me." Donghyuck rubbed his hand. Honestly it probably didn't hurt anymore, but Jeno needed Donghyuck on his side so he decided to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Jeno ran over to his tub of legos and dragged them in front of Donghyuck as a peace offering. "You can touch whatever you want, just please don't leave. And don't tell my mom I accidentally hit you."

"Accidentally?"

Jeno frowned. He crouched and grabbed a random toy from the ground, which ended up being his favorite Gundam figure. His nose wrinkled as he held it out to Donghyuck. "This is my favorite toy. You can play with it, but I hit you accidentally, got it?"

Donghyuck stared at the Gundam in Jeno's grasp, but he looked away after a couple of minutes. He yanked the plastic tub full of legos and dragged it towards Jeno's lego tower. "I wanna play with these," Donghyuck said quietly as he plopped down on the floor and reached into the tub, pulling out a few pieces. Jeno pressed his lips together and stalked off to sit next to Donghyuck, eyeing him as he picked through the lego bricks.

"You're really bad at bribing. My mom does it so much better, she offers me a Mars bar and lets me play past my bedtime. You should learn from her." A blush bloomed across Jeno's face when Donghyuck started talking as he put several lego blocks together. "I wanna know why you have this col-colu-colum-big line of lego. If you tell me, I'll tell your mom we had lots of fun playing together."

Jeno's eyes narrowed at him. "You're sneaky."

Donghyuck shrugged and fished around the tub again as he waited for Jeno's response.

Jeno sighed. "I was trying to see if all of them together could reach the ceiling. And then if it does, I'm gonna rebuild it outside to really see how tall it can go because if I ask my parents to put a hole into my room's ceiling I'll get in trouble."

Donghyuck removed his arm from the tub and disassembled the LEGOs he'd stuck together previously. "Let's do it, then."

"'Let's'? You'll help me?"

"Of course dummy, if you do this by yourself who knows what bad things would happen."

"I was doing fine by myself before you dropped by, though."

"Just continue with your fancy-shmancy lego experi-exper-that thing scientists do or I'll tell your mom you hit me and that you're mean."

And that's how they spent the rest of the time before they were called down for dinner, just stacking legos higher and higher until eventually they needed to stand on a chair to reach it. During this time, Jeno found out that Donghyuck asks a lot of questions, and that he won't stop until he gets an answer he's satisfied with. They also found out that all of Jeno's legos combined only reach half of his room's height, and Jeno promised to get his parents to buy him more legos. Donghyuck promised to come back to help them stack them all up again.

During dinner, Jeno's mother snuck him some candy under the table. There were different kinds of candy: mints, fruit-flavored ones, and chocolate. Jeno saw a small Mars bar in the pile. After dinner, while their moms chatted for a bit more before Donghyuck and his mother take their leave, Jeno gave Donghyuck the Mars bar.

Jeno's mother bought some succulents the next day and put one in Jeno's room. When Donghyuck came over the next week (Jeno had stopped by his house the day before to tell him he had gotten some more lego bricks), Donghyuck fought Jeno for naming rights and that's how the poor plant ended up being named Ole Kirk, because that was the name of the person who invented legos according to Donghyuck's father.

"Legos are what made us friends, so it's Ole Kirk or nothing."

"What was his full name again?"

Donghyuck stopped sifting through the lego bricks, trying his hardest to remember. He gave up after a few seconds. "It was really long, I can't remember. So for now the name is just Ole Kirk. Got that, Jeno?"

"Got it."

A few months later, Jeno's mother deemed him responsible enough to take care of another succulent. Jeno named that one Duckie.

***

Years later in grade school, Jeno makes a discovery. Donghyuck can sing, and he sings very well. His voice is high pitched, puberty not tampering with his vocal cords yet, but it's sweet to listen to, like honey, slow to flow but oh so delightful to observe and taste. Once Jeno had gotten a sample, he couldn't stop himself from wanting more of it.

"Can you sing me something?" Jeno asks Donghyuck one night. They're in Jeno's room, lying down on the mattress Jeno's father had set up on the floor, surrounded by darkness. The only light comes from the window, moonlight filtering through. It looks like an invitation, like the doorway to heaven.

Hyuck huddles closer to him and drapes an arm around Jeno's stomach. "What song?"

"Any song."

"Even the alphabet song?"

Jeno pulls roughly on Donghyuck's arm, and Hyuck lets out a low whine. "An actual song," Jeno whispers harshly. "A lullaby, maybe."

Donghyuck pouts slightly as he ponders what to sing, and Jeno watches his eyes shift from one direction to another as he sifts through all the songs he knows. Jeno appreciates the fact that Donghyuck is taking so much time and effort to find a good enough song for him but Jeno just really, really wants to hear his voice already, to hear him sing. After five minutes of waiting for a response, Jeno seriously considers telling Donghyuck that the alphabet song would suffice.

"I got it!" Donghyuck leans back a bit so he can look up at Jeno, his grip tightening around Jeno's waist. "There's this really sad song from a musical called 'Cats'!"

"But I don't want to hear a sad song."

"Too bad." Donghyuck moves to rest on his elbows and Jeno copies him. "You love cats, and sad songs are great lullabies! You'll like it, Jen."

"Just so we're clear, I love cats the animals, not the musical. I didn't even know there was a musical about cats, were there lots of cats in it?"

Donghyuck purses his lips together. "The actors were the cats. The cats were singing. It's a musical about human-sized singing cats."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"...why were the cats singing a sad song? What were they sad about?"

Donghyuck shrugs. "I don't really remember," he says sheepishly. "But we can watch it tomorrow if you like!" Donghyuck sucks in a breath to start singing before Jeno can tell him that no, he would not like to watch cats become sad.

Donghyuck hums the first few notes to get the feeling of it, and a melody floods the room. Donghyuck sings softly, his voice clear enough for Jeno to hear at their proximity and quiet enough to not disturb Jeno's parents down the hall. His voice strains to reach the high notes and it cracks at several places but Jeno couldn't care less; Donghyuck could have sounded like a wailing cat and Jeno would still have paid rapt attention as the air is filled with the music of Jeno's night.

Jeno learns how to play guitar after that night. He tells himself that it's so that his parents will stop trying to get him to play the piano like his grandfather did, but really he only learns guitar so Hyuck can stop bothering him about not being able to reenact those movie scenes where the best friends make music together, one of them singing while the other one strums some strings.

Jeno ends up learning to play the piano anyway, because Donghyuck insists on teaching him (Donghyuck says it's so that "the big old piano in your house doesn't go to waste" but Jeno thinks it's because Donghyuck wants to brag about his "advanced" piano skills). He and Donghyuck wake up at hellish hours on weekend mornings to play River Flows in You again and again, until Jeno's mother calls them into the dining room for breakfast. They practice for hours, either on the grand piano in Jeno's living room or on the electronic piano in Donghyuck's bedroom (which was positioned right next to Donghyuck's two succulents named Sunflower and Haechan respectively, allegedly to entice inspiration from nature to strike as he hits the keyboard).

Donghyuck gets tired of the piano quickly and asks Jeno to teach him how to play guitar but he drops that just as swiftly and returns to the keyboard, graduating from Yiruma to the likes of Bach, Schumann, and Chopin. Jeno advances promptly as well, and soon they become the most talented duo of all the kids on their block. Donghyuck's favorite instrument is his voice though, so he enjoys singing the most. Jeno enjoys listening to said instrument, so he doesn't complain when Donghyuck bugs him to strum a few chords or to hit a few keys for him. Jeno figures out how to play some of Donghyuck's favorite songs and he surprises Donghyuck with a piano rendition of Thriller one rainy Saturday morning. It makes Donghyuck so happy that he hangs around Jeno's house the following week and does his chores for him just to hear it again, and while Jeno would play it in a heartbeat without needing compensation as long as Donghyuck asked, he's certainly very glad he's not on dish duty on casserole night.

They develop a pattern: Donghyuck sings while Jeno plays, be it piano or guitar. They sing for their friends, for their families, for anyone who bothers to listen, and that's how Donghyuck's love for performing is born. As for Jeno, he discovers that he likes staying low-key, giving others the stage and being content in the background. He pushes Donghyuck to the forefront and Donghyuck doesn't just twinkle or sparkle; Donghyuck  _ blazes _ , basking in the glow of the spotlight, and Jeno discovers that he likes seeing him there, at the center of everyone's attention, exactly where Donghyuck belongs.

He looks back at everything he's ever done, at every toy he's ever bought, at every snack he's ever asked his mother to make, at every instrument he's ever learned to play, at every activity he's ever done, and discovers that Donghyuck is the instigator for most of them, like a trail of guiding lights over a dark sky, a shining constellation scattering meanings into the night but leaving you to connect the dots and to interpret them for yourself.

Over the years he'd make multiple other discoveries, but the most prominent one would be that he could never say no to Donghyuck.

***

During their first year of high school, Donghyuck tries out for the theater department. It's Jeno's idea, because he's gotten tired of Donghyuck forcing him to watch bootleg copies of Broadway musicals. 

("Instead of watching this in low quality," Jeno had grumbled as Donghyuck settled next to him on the bed, Jeno's laptop opened to an illegal recording of Dear Evan Hansen with a funny video name so YouTube moderators or whatever can't easily find it and take it down, "why don't you just act it out? I'm sure you could pull off a one-man show."

"Oh? Would you like to see that, my good sir? Would you like a front row seat to Full Sun Productions?"

"If it means we don't have to watch this for like, the 50th time? Definitely." Jeno shut down his laptop and leaned back on his bed as Donghyuck confidently hopped out of it and began stretching, warming up his vocal cords to start rapping the Dear Evan Hansen opening scene. "Blow me away, Duckie."

And Donghyuck did. Donghyuck always does.)

The audition goes spectacularly well, particularly because Donghyuck burst through the doors with his rendition of Don't Rain On My Parade from Funny Girl which was eerily similar to the way Santana had done it on Glee season 5. Jeno, sitting in the front row and wondering how the hell Donghyuck managed to pull that off since he was sure he'd escorted Donghyuck backstage, watches as everyone in the auditorium got up off their seats and clapped for Donghyuck, and he watches as Donghyuck smiles brightly and bows before his audience of the theater club members and the ten people who had friends who were auditioning and came to provide moral support. Seeing how comfortable Donghyuck is with everyone's attention on him makes Jeno wonder why he hadn't suggested it sooner, or why Donghyuck hadn't thought of it himself.

Mr. Byun, the theater department adviser, and Moon Taeil, the theater club president, welcome Donghyuck and his extra-ness with open arms. Jeno supposes that it's because theater geeks have a soft spot for the dramatic.

Donghyuck gets cast as part of the company for their school's production of Phantom of The Opera, which is a musical Donghyuck has engraved in his heart. His excitement for it bleeds into both his and Jeno's daily life: he sometimes butts into random conversations with an ominous "I am your Angel of Music" (earning him flicks to the forehead from Jaemin), he rewatches the 25th Anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall at least five times before opening night (on Jeno's laptop as he's snuggled into Jeno's side, because apparently a half-masked man is scary to Donghyuck), and he makes Jeno learn the chords of Think Of Me and play it as Donghyuck sings sorrowfully to Jeno's living room wall, despite that not being the song that Donghyuck should be practicing.

Jeno ends up joining the theater department as well due to Donghyuck's insistence, but his involvement is more behind the scenes. He helps with the props and the set design, sometimes he helps with lighting and other effects, and sometimes he plays accompaniment when needed. The club vice-president, a junior named Doyoung, takes a liking to Jeno and practically adopts him; sometimes asking Jeno to sit in during his practices if Jeno wasn't busy, asking Jeno's opinion on both his performances and life choices, such as whether his sweater vest gave off an intimidating vibe or how he should deliver an opening speech, and occasionally treating Jeno to food and reviewers that he still had (because Kim Doyoung never throws things away, especially when he's poured so much heart and soul and ink into them).

Jeno and Donghyuck become inseparable, a two-person team of dreamers and believers - or at least that's what Donghyuck says whenever people ask if they're dating because they're practically attached at the hip. Jeno takes the less dramatic approach and just says that no, they aren't dating, they're like brothers, but Donghyuck always pouts and makes up some sort of spiel about how they're soulmates designated to challenge the norms of society or whatever.

With the dating discourse dispelled, the next whispers about them consisted of how Jeno was Donghyuck's lackey. It made sense, considering that Donghyuck was the more outgoing and extroverted between the two, and Jeno tended to just observe and let Donghyuck take the lead. It's the way things have always been, and Jeno liked it that way. Less people to deal with, less gossip.

That didn't mean that their words didn't hurt him, though.

"It must get tiring to be the sidekick," he hears an upperclassman say to him as they watch the dress rehearsal. It's unprompted and surprising, especially coming from someone who he'd never talked to before. He's thinking of a good way to extract himself from the situation when Taeil calls for the cast to start from the top and both Jeno and the upperclassman direct their gazes to the stage, where the actors are practicing the ballroom scene for the Masquerade number. He spots Donghyuck somewhere to the side, his full mask golden and twinkling under the harsh stage lights. Jeno had helped make the masks, and he had made sure that Donghyuck's would be the sparkliest mask of all.  _ A shining mask for a shining boy. _

"Sidekick," Jeno whispers to himself as Taeil tells the people onstage to take five. Jeno sees Donghyuck wildly waving at him, gesturing for him to go backstage, and the upperclassman beside Jeno snickers. Jeno says nothing as he rises from his seat and proceeds to follow Donghyuck, his jaw locked in an attempt to not retort.

Jeno feels multiple eyes on him as he walks and he rolls his eyes. Don't they have their own lives to chat about? Why bother disturbing Jeno's?

He stands in a corner as the cast goes down the steps leading backstage, still a bit unsettled by the brief exchange. His mood lightens when he spots Donghyuck barreling towards him in full costume, stopping just short of knocking him over. His mask is still blocking his face from view but Jeno sees his eyes disappear into slits and he knows that a large grin is hiding behind it.

Jeno reaches to remove it, and when he does Donghyuck shakes his head a bit and runs his hand through his hair, damp from sweat. "How was it?" Donghyuck asks, chewing on his bottom lip. It's a nervous habit he's had since they were younger, and it turns his mouth swollen so Jeno pokes his cheek to stop him. 

"It was amazing." Donghyuck's eyes glimmer as Jeno enumerates everything he liked about their run-through, from how he's happy the stairs on the stage didn't collapse with the amount of people stomping down on it to how he really liked how they executed that move where you flick your wrist and the fans open in sync. "Wonderful," Jeno says to conclude his speech. "It was wonderful. You were all wonderful."

Donghyuck tugs on his sleeve. "How about me?"

Jeno smiles down at him, shifting Donghyuck's mask back and forth between his hands. "The most wonderful one of all."

At that moment, Taeil calls for the actors to start preparing for the next scene. Donghyuck tilts his head so Jeno can place the mask back on his face, covering up the entirety of Donghyuck's face. "Knock 'em dead, Duckie."

"Help me hide the bodies, yeah?" Donghyuck squeezes Jeno's hands as he gets back into position, and Jeno slinks back to his seat. The upperclassman from earlier is gone now, and Jeno is grateful for it.

He looks down at his hands and finds that there's glitter all over it, probably from Donghyuck's mask. He can't complain since he made that, but he doesn't really mind the mess on his hands.  _ After all _ , he thinks,  _ it's only fitting that the sparkling boy leaves sparkles in his wake. _

The rehearsal continues but Jeno finds himself distracted when it's not Donghyuck's turn to perform. His mind wanders back to the chatters of being Donghyuck's lapdog, but he shoves them all away immediately. So helping out Donghyuck is considered being his assistant? Well then, maybe he liked being his assistant. Is that really such a bad thing?

And if it wasn't a bad thing, why does his heart feel so heavy?

It takes him a whole week to get his mind off it, and all it took was a pep talk from Donghyuck.

Jeno's speed walking down the aisle to Donghyuck's next class because the idiot had left his textbook in his locker again. Donghyuck's waiting for him by the door, and his worried expression changes to one of relief and thanks when Jeno leans on the doorway to catch his breath, still clutching Donghyuck's book in his arms. Donghyuck drapes himself over Jeno in a hug attempt and Jeno has half a mind to push him off when he hears someone snicker as they enter Donghyuck's classroom. "The sidekick comes to the rescue again," someone says, and Jeno stiffens from his position by the door. Donghyuck pulls away from Jeno, his brows furrowed. "Were they talking about us?"

Jeno sighs and pulls Donghyuck to stand outside his classroom instead of by the doorway, and he shuts the door closed. He has eight minutes before he's late to his own class, but Donghyuck has and always will be his first priority.

If he's gonna be a sidekick, then he's gonna be most loyal sidekick he can be.

That, and his next class' teacher is nice and doesn't mind if a student is late.

"Did they just call you my sidekick?" Donghyuck's still confused. Jeno uses his thumb to smooth away the creases on Donghyuck's forehead but all that does is to make him frown harder. "What are they talking about?"

Jeno glances at his watch. Six minutes. It's fine, he can probably give Donghyuck a rundown of everything in a minute or two.

Four minutes later and Donghyuck still doesn't get it.

"You're telling me that they're degrading you because you're a good person and you like to help and take care of others?

"Well, I wouldn't say they're degrading me, but-"

"Hello? They don't think of you as your own person! They think you're an extension of me! What the actual fu-"

"It's not that big of a deal-"

"But it is!" Donghyuck stares Jeno down. "You really have to stand up for yourself, Jen. You can't like people walk all over you like this. And if you ever feel like I'm oppressing you or something, let me know okay? I never want you to feel like you're inferior, especially compared to me, you got that?"

Donghyuck continues talking. "I don't think they've noticed but you have your own personality! Like how you tend to all those succulents in your room while the ones in mine are dying-"

"I'm sorry, Haechan and Sunflower are  _ WHAT _ ."

"Shush, I'll give them to you later so you can revive them or something. Now, listen-"

"What do you mean revive them, do I look like a magician to you? A necromancer? How do I revive something that's dead? Oh my god, the last time I watered them was only two days ago and now I'll never be able to do it again-"

Donghyuck clicks his tongue. "Stop being dramatic, sheesh, they're probably not dead. Just...not very lively at the moment."

" _ Donghyuck _ ."

"What I was trying to say is," Donghyuck continues before Jeno's distress can grow any more, "we are two separate people. I'm not any more special than you are. I'm not a hero, and you're not my sidekick. You're you, and I'm me, and that's great in itself, but together we're the best we can be." Donghyuck takes Jeno's hand and holds it tight. "They're probably just jealous because I have the most magnificent person ever looking out for me. And I don't always look like it but I do look out for you, so technically I'm your sidekick too in their standards."

"Thanks, Duckie." Jeno is touched, really he is, but he's almost ten minutes late to class now. (Technically Donghyuck is too, but his classroom is literally  _ right there _ whereas Jeno's is down several hallways.) "I really have to run Duckie, but I'll see you at lunch?"

"See you!" Donghyuck wraps his arms around Jeno's waist, and though it feels nice, Jeno really,  _ really _ has to get to class as soon as he can. He lets himself melt into the hug for ten seconds (he counts the numbers in his head) and then slowly he detaches Donghyuck's arms. He gets the hint and lets go of Jeno, giving his hand a final squeeze before going back inside his classroom. Once he's inside, Jeno takes off.

At lunchtime, Jeno finds Donghyuck waiting for him at their usual table with Jaemin beside him, a lunch tray for Jeno ready next to his own. Jeno slides into the empty side at Donghyuck's other side.

"Jen," Donghyuck starts as he pushes the tray closer to Jeno, "how'd your teacher take you being ultra super duper mega late?"

Despite Donghyuck's joking tone, by the end of Jeno's story Donghyuck looks unhappy and ashamed that Jeno had been reprimanded because of him. Jeno grabs his hand from under the table and gives it a squeeze like Donghyuck did earlier. They eat lunch that way, with Donghyuck's slightly smaller hand in Jeno's hold as they both eat using one hand only, with Jaemin pretending that he doesn't notice and yammering away about how cute the new exchange student from China is. And when they finish eating, when Jeno picks up the trays and deposits them in the proper area, smiling at the lunch servers as he does, when he sees several people sneering when they notice Jaemin and Donghyuck by the cafeteria exit waiting for him, he raises his head high and slings his arms around both Donghyuck and Jaemin as he reaches them, pulling them a bit closer to him as they wobble through the corridor.

Maybe he was a sidekick, maybe he wasn't, but Jeno sure as hell knew that he'd stick with Donghyuck through hell and high water, and that Donghyuck would do the same for him.

***

Donghyuck's first major role comes in the form of Anastasia's Dimitri, and it's the first time Jeno sees Donghyuck's confidence take a hit.

Jeno's seen Donghyuck cry before but usually Donghyuck cries loudly, wailing incomprehensible words while prodding at his eyes until they're red. However, the Donghyuck currently tucked away in the corner between his bed and his bedside table is quiet, silent tears running down his face as he holds in his sounds, making sure his sniffles weren't too loud or that no one would notice him hiccupping. 

Jeno leans down to his eye level and Donghyuck just stares at him, wiping his nose. Jeno sits cross-legged on the floor and motions for Donghyuck to sit on his lap, which Donghyuck dutifully does. Donghyuck hits his elbow on the side of the table and Jeno rubs it gingerly as he crawls over towards him, fitting in his arms and looking so terribly small and frightened. 

"You wanna talk about it?" Jeno removes his hand from Donghyuck's elbow and runs it up and down his back as Donghyuck nuzzles into his chest. "I messed up," Donghyuck mumbles into the fabric of Jeno's shirt.

Jeno curls both of his arms around him this time. He had seen it happen, had seen Donghyuck trip over several lines and forget some cues. But Donghyuck's singing was flawless, as usual.

Unfortunately, that wasn't good enough for Donghyuck.

No one scolded him, no one even bat an eye when Donghyuck stuttered over the word  _ Romanov _ . Yeri laughed a bit, but it was the fond laugh of a friend, not a laugh meant to mortify. Taeil was smiling, but he wasn't happy that Donghyuck had failed - he was just pleasantly surprised to learn that Donghyuck, with his unwavering confidence and convincing swagger, was nervous. But Donghyuck, ever the perfectionist, never settles for anything less than excellent.

"It's just a bad day."

"I messed up," Donghyuck repeats, louder this time. "I practiced so hard. I had it all down. It was perfect. I was perfect."

"You don't have to be perfect, Duckie. You just have to do your best."

"That's not my best, though. I can do better. So much better."

Jeno holds him closer. "I know you can."

Donghyuck is silent for a while. Jeno fixes his gaze on Haechan and Sunflower, sitting on the opposite sides in the middle part of Donghyuck's bookshelf, above the old electronic keyboard. Jeno had specifically asked Donghyuck to not put any books vertically in between the succulents in case the books falls out of balance and crush the plants, but Donghyuck's copy of a storybook version of Anastasia is leaning precariously over Sunflower. Jeno makes a face but this isn't the right time to point it out, so he'll have to lay the book flat on their backs himself later. 

Donghyuck clears his throat, and Jeno glances down to see him humming slightly, warming up his vocal cords and preparing to sing.

He hums the first few notes of Once Upon a December, and when he opens his mouth to sing about dancing bears and painted wings, Jeno closes his eyes and places his chin on top of Donghyuck's head. His voice is a tad nasally from being clogged by snot and it's not its usual trickling, running through your veins like an electric shock, surprising, jolting someone out of a stupor. This time Donghyuck's voice moves like molasses, slowly making its way through Jeno's system and grabbing on, unwilling to let him go from its hold. His vocals are enchanting as he sings about things his heart used to know and things he yearns to remember, and there's so much emotion in it that Jeno feels like he's been transported into the empty ballroom from the movie version, hidden in the alcove of the grand staircase as Donghyuckstasia croons sweetly with a voice flowing like liquid gold.

When the song is over, with Donghyuck's falsetto fading in the air, Jeno is brought back to Donghyuck's bedroom, sitting on a semi-clean floor and clasping on to a boy with dried tears on his cheek. Donghyuck is calmer now. He's stopped crying and is staring out the window, where the sky can barely be seen because the skyline covers everything up.

"You should have sung Journey to the Past instead," Jeno mumbles. "It's more hopeful."

Donghyuck purses his lips together and before Jeno can say anything else, he's belting out a somber version of Journey to the Past, pausing longer than usual and voice warbling when he sings the word  _ fear _ .

Where Donghyuck's words fail, his melodies fill in. Donghyuck has always expressed himself better with music. Performing is how he gains the self-assurance that allows him to put himself out there, and that's when Jeno realizes that Donghyuck is a literal star, made to shine by the light of encouragements and twinkling to guide others. He could be a part of a constellation, he could be a remnant of an explosion, he could be the beginning of a new celestial body, but either way he is something ethereal, something beautiful, something whose glimmer no one can deny even from afar. His gleam can be dimmed by circumstances, but he is undoubtedly a star, and he will shine for as long as he is able to.

"Are you feeling better now?" Jeno asks after Donghyuck's finished singing. Donghyuck takes in a deep breath and snuggles deeper into Jeno's arms.

"Yeah." Donghyuck's answering smile is soft, almost shy. "Thank you, Jen. For everything."

Jeno smiles back at him. "Anytime, Duckie."

A minute passes before Jeno decides to add, "Don't think too much about today, okay? Practice has barely started, soon everyone will be begging you to stop being so incredible because you'll be hogging the spotlight."

Donghyuck snorts in response. "Yangyang might actually push me off stage if I do."

"I'll catch you if you fall." Jeno feels warmth creep up his face and neck, and he regrets saying it immediately. 

Donghyuck lets out a chuckle as he gets up and drags Jeno to his bed so they can cuddle. Donghyuck waits until they're a tangle of limbs and until Jeno's eyes have closed and his breathing has evened out before he murmurs, "I'll be counting on it, Prince Charming."

As preparations for the play go on, Jeno observes that everyone working to get it done well are all stars, too. There are the not-very-noticeable ones who work behind the scenes (Jeno included) but still twinkle softly in the background, beautifying the bleak night sky with their gentle dazzle; the ones who organize the show, the theater club officers and the club advisor, the faces who amaze with upfront displays of brilliance; and the ones who bring the characters to life, the actors who have dedicated their hearts and souls to their roles, who are excited to show the audience how vividly they can shine.

And at the end of the night when all the actors come out to take their final bows, when all the stars who toiled to make this play a reality congregate in one place, as Donghyuck and Yangyang, who played Vladimir, step back to give the spotlight to Yeri, their wonderful Anastasia, Jeno thinks that it was Donghyuck who shone the brightest on that stage. (Sorry, Yeri-noona.)

***

After his stint as Dimitri, Donghyuck becomes a hot topic. The theater club members don't become famous overnight, and a lot of people still refer to them as "the drama children", but they're getting acclaim and people are recognizing their skills. It's the best they could have hoped for, and as ticket sales increase for each play the productions become more and more remarkable, larger than life and showcasing talent in every which way - from the set and costume design to the light and sound effects, to the scriptwriting and to the performances.

Donghyuck is one of the theater department's rising stars, and as Donghyuck's best friend (and shadow, according to the never-ending whispers) his popularity skyrockets along with Donghyuck's. If life was High School Musical (which it kind of is, at least for Jeno), Jeno is the Ryan to Donghyuck's Sharpay (a better, nicer version of Sharpay). Some people still don't know Jeno as anything other than Donghyuck's right-hand man, but that doesn't bother him much anymore because Donghyuck always makes it clear that there is no one greater or lesser in their camaraderie. And anyway, Jeno's always thought that Ryan was a pretty cool character.

During their senior year Mr. Byun lets them decide what show they want to put on as their last. They're given complete creative control, just as the past theater students who graduated before them were, and Renjun, their current theater club president, proclaims that their final production has to be something so remarkable that people would remember it for ages.

And what better way to go out with a bang than to defy gravity.

Their last production for the school year is Wicked. Donghyuck plays the role of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch. Renjun gets the role of Glinda, the Good Witch, and together the dynamic duo aim to take the stage and set it on fire. (Jeno doesn't know if they meant it literally or not, and Jeno doesn't want to ask.) Donghyuck was initially not very keen on the idea of wearing green paint, but the mention of being elevated into the air makes him giddy and cancels any reservations about looking like a vegetable.

They begin preparations promptly, and that is when the most confusing dilemma of Jeno's life begins.

It happens on a Saturday afternoon, a month before opening night. They're finalizing the stage design and effects so that the actors can do dry runs, and at this point in time the entirety of the theater department turn into props masters in order for everything to run smoothly. Mr. Byun has enlisted the help of his friends in the school faculty to set up the machines and devices, and Doyoung, Taeil, and several former theater club alumni even drop by to help out. Everything's falling into place.

Just like Jeno's feelings for Donghyuck.

It all starts with an order to get some plywood and paint from the storeroom. Donghyuck, who had been working on the finishing details of a backdrop with a sophomore named Jisung, immediately volunteers to do it, and of course Jeno  _ has _ to come with him.

"Who would carry everything otherwise?" Jeno reaches to hit the back of Donghyuck's head but Donghyuck runs ahead, leaving Jeno to chuckle softly before catching up with him.

Looking back, Jeno thinks that storeroom might be cursed. Either cursed or filled with magic. Love magic. Disgusting.

While they're picking through planks of plywood and talking about which paint colors would pop against a black background and cracking stupid jokes, the dim light catches Donghyuck's eyes and they twinkle. They honest to god  _ twinkle _ , like stars. It's like the entire universe is confined in Donghyuck's gaze. Jeno is taken aback, but he chalks it up to the wonky lighting in the storeroom.

But then Donghyuck winks at him, and has Hyuck always been so radiant? Or maybe it's just the stupid old fluorescent lights giving him this strange glowing aura? Maybe it's dizziness from not having eaten breakfast this morning? (Which isn't entirely true since Donghyuck dragged him to the convenience store to buy a sandwich for him when he heard Jeno's stomach rumbling on their way to school.)

It's a bit disconcerting, so he stops and puts down the cans of paint he's holding to check if he's okay. He's definitely not if he keeps seeing a metaphorical halo over Hyuck's head (or is it metaphorical? It looks real to Jeno, a band of luminescence encircling Hyuck's head).

Donghyuck turns around to find Jeno shamelessly staring at him as Jeno tries to make it all make sense. He sees concern dawn on Hyuck's face, and  _ oh _ , has Donghyuck's face looked like that this whole time? He looks...pretty. Gorgeous. Stunning.

Wait, what?

"You alright, Jen? Wanna sit down for a bit?" Donghyuck pushes some things away to make space for Jeno but Jeno shakes his head, picking up some planks of plywood so they can get the hell out of there as soon as possible.

_ He looks cute when he's worried about me _ , Jeno thinks as Donghyuck pouts, gathering up a couple of planks as well. Donghyuck being cute is a fact of life though, so he's not too alarmed to be thinking about it.

He becomes alarmed when his thoughts drift to how plump and soft Donghyuck's pouty lips would feel against his.

"What the fuck," Jeno murmurs. It echoes in the storage room, and it's the only sound Donghyuck and Jeno hear for a moment.

Wait.

Did he just curse?!?!

Jeno slaps his hands over his mouth. He doesn't curse, he shouldn't curse! He can hear Doyoung's voice in his head, clear and proudly saying, "Lee Jeno is an angel who can do no wrong!!!" 

But Doyoung was wrong. Jeno does a lot of things wrong. Exhibit A: He just cursed!

Exhibit B: When he slapped his hands over his mouth he forgot that he was holding three planks of plywood, and they all clatter to the floor. But not before hitting his foot of course, because the universe is out to get Jeno today.

As Jeno cradles his left foot while trying to balance on one leg, he hears two things that gives him contradicting feelings. The first is a warm laugh, not exactly a bells-chiming-in-the-wind kind; it's a hearty guffaw, one that he's listened to so many times. Donghyuck is clapping his hands together repeatedly like a seal, and he slaps Jeno's arm as he laughs and laughs and laughs. Wow, was Jeno being in pain so funny to him?

But as he makes to glare at Donghyuck, he realizes that he likes seeing him like that. He likes seeing Donghyuck's nose all scrunched up, Donghyuck's eyes turning into little crescents almost similar to Jeno's own, Donghyuck doubled over in laughter with his hands on his knees to avoid toppling over. Donghyuck's laugh brings him a feeling of fondness, washing over him and demoting the ache in his foot to a mere inconvenience if that's what it took to make Donghyuck that carefree.

And if making himself look like a fool is what it takes to make Donghyuck happy, then so be it.

In that moment, he has an epiphany.

In that moment, he realizes he likes Hyuck.

Worse, in that moment every single moment of him and Hyuck together flashes through his mind, a slideshow of memories in 1040p HD. It's overwhelming, and it's not exactly the best time to be thinking about this, so he fast forwards and promises to play it all back later. He knows it probably will anyway.

Donghyuck's chortles dissolve into soft giggles, a complete opposite of his earlier guffaws, and it gives Jeno whiplash. Has Donghyuck's laughter always been so cute?

Donghyuck extends one hand towards Jeno, the other one reaching for the planks of plywood he set on the ground before he went into his laughing fit. Jeno takes the outstretched hand and shakes his foot a bit to get rid of the feeling of numbness. Donghyuck intertwines their fingers and Jeno feels his heart stutter as Donghyuck moves, swinging his hand and dragging him out of the storeroom.

Jeno and Donghyuck drop all the items they're carrying next to Jisung, who merely grumbles in acknowledgement. Doyoung jogs over to double-check everything Jeno and Donghyuck had brought from their terribly prolonged trip to the storage room. "Didn't I ask you to get some paint too?" Doyoung asks as he examines a plank of plywood, knocking against it several times.

Jeno presses his lips together. He knew he was forgetting something. "Ah, shit."

Doyoung's eyes widen and a look of horror crosses his face. Jeno thinks he looks like he's about to scream, or cry, or possibly wail? He doesn't know what Doyoung will do but he's sure that whatever it is, it will be very dramatic.

"WAIT, DOYOUNG-HYUNG I'M SO SORRY."

Later at night, when Jeno's comfy in his bed, he goes over his big revelation from earlier. Yes, Donghyuck is very good looking and talented and clever and absolutely devastating in every way possible, but did he really romantic-like him or is it just misplaced friendly-like?

He remembers the times when Donghyuck made his heart beat faster and louder than it usually does. He remembers blushing whenever Donghyuck compliments him, and how nice Donghyuck's hand feels in his, and how warm and safe and appreciated his hugs make him feel, and how he doesn't mind the occasional peck he gives him every now and then, and how he wants to protect Donghyuck from everything bad in this world, and how he wants to cherish him forever-

Jeno frowns. Okay, so maybe he really is in love.

"LIKE," Jeno yells at no one. "I  _ like _ him, not love." Jeno mutters to himself. "Definitely not love."

Yet the image of Donghyuck in the storage room haunts his mind, how ethereal he looked, how his laughter rang in his ears, how he fretted over Jeno being hurt (despite making fun of him first), how his smile made everything better - even the throbbing of his foot.

Jeno groans.  _ Fucking lights _ .

He sighs. Maybe the reason why he let Donghyuck play with his legos all those years ago was because he didn't want to see Donghyuck sad.

Maybe the reason why he actually made an effort to learn guitar was to hear Donghyuck sing for him.

Maybe the reason why he joined the theater club was so Donghyuck wouldn't feel lonely there.

_ Ew _ , Jeno thinks.  _ I've got it bad. Like, whipped-whipped. _

Now that Jeno realizes his feelings, he has three options. The first is to avoid Donghyuck at all costs while the feelings are still new-ish. He would cut down the time they spend together and start refusing Donghyuck's invitations to hang out. He would hold back from showing him too much fondness and he would shy away from Donghyuck's never ending affections.

But Jeno can't do that, because that would hurt Donghyuck.

And please don't take his Duckie's hugs away from him; Jeno might actually cry.

And so there's choice number two, which would be to confess. Tell Donghyuck about how he feels about him and hope for the best. If Donghyuck feels the same way or could possibly learn to then that would be amazing, but if not then sucks to be him.

But Jeno can't do that either, because he's a coward who's scared of losing his best friend and ruining years of friendship, all because he wants to hold hands with Hyuck and cuddle him and give him a kith. All of these which he can do as his BFF, by the way.

Which leaves the final option: indifference. Act like nothing happened, like Jeno didn't just discover romantic feelings for his oldest and closest friend. Yes, that sounds like the best decision.

***

It's the best decision until it's not.

Jeno's sitting on the floor of his bedroom. Donghyuck is starfished on his bed, his limbs spread out in a way that takes up all of the space. They both have their phones in their hands, and Jeno is watching Renjun's latest Instagram story. It features Renjun and Jaemin in the dressing room, with Jaemin standing by the racks of costumes and pulling out some of them to show the camera, shoving them back randomly afterwards. Jeno hears Mark screeching in the background, and Renjun yells at Donghyuck to stop chasing Mark around but Donghyuck only approaches Renjun and blows a kiss to the camera before launching off in search of Mark again. The video cuts as Jaemin rumples the yellow suit Renjun will wear as Glinda, and Jeno cringes. Taeil-hyung will not be happy if he ever sees this chaos, since he was the one who ironed most of the clothes.

"Duckie," Jeno calls as Donghyuck fails to pass a level in Candy Crush. He waits for Donghyuck to stop glaring at his phone before speaking up again. "What were you chasing Mark-hyung around for?"

Donghyuck shrugs. "He was being picky about his Fiyero costume with the suspenders."

Jeno frowns. He was the one who put the outfit together. "What's wrong with the suspenders?"

"He didn't like how heavy they were, apparently. Shouldn't be a problem anymore since the only reason they were pressing down on his shoulders was because he had them on too tight," Donghyuck assures Jeno quickly after Jeno's face falls a bit. "I was just doing what BFFs do and defending your honor as the best sylist-in-training there is."

"Please, the only reason they put me in the costume department was because I accidentally stepped on the broom that one time I forgot to wear my contacts," Jeno smiles. "But thank you, Duckie."

"Anytime, Jen." Donghyuck smiles back at him before turning his attention back to his phone to restart, but Jeno still had a question in mind before Donghyuck refuses to let anyone bother him until he passes the level.

"Duckie," Jeno whines as he places his chin on the bed, using his head to nudge the phone out of Donghyuck's hands. Donghyuck rolls his eyes but puts his phone down anyway, and he shuffles to allow enough space on the bed for Jeno to sit. Jeno stays on the floor though, locking eyes with Donghyuck.

It's strange how there isn't any awkwardness to them staring at each other so intensely. There aren't any words, at least not yet. The energy between them is easy and light but charged with an undercurrent of something foreign, like they're both waiting for the other to break the calm barrier.

"Maybe you should lay off Mark-hyung a bit?" Jeno says it slowly, carefully, not wanting to offend Donghyuck in any way. "I don't think he's a very big fan of skinship. Besides, you have me and Jaem to cuddle. Renjun too. And Chenle. And Taeil-hyung-"

Donghyuck interrupts him with a boop on his nose. With his lips. His lips boop Jeno's nose. Donghyuck kisses the tip of Jeno's nose, and that's all Jeno can process as Donghyuck cups his face in his hands and stares at Jeno malfunctioning.

"I know I have you guys," Donghyuck tells Jeno when he snaps out of the short trance the kiss that was too close to where he wanted it put him in (a lips-to-lips one would have been nice). "But Mark's cool with me being touchy! Mark-hyung doesn't usually return my affection but that doesn't mean that he doesn't like it."

Jeno raises an eyebrow and Hyuck sighs. "Look at it this way Jen, hyung's like a cat. He pretends to hate it whenever I nuzzle close to him or whenever I hold his hand but when I'm not being touchy he thinks I'm sick or that I'm sad or something."

"Like a baby lion?"

"Like a baby lion cub," Donghyuck confirms. "Just less dangerous. And you're not allergic to him, so that's a plus."

Jeno pouts slightly. "I still want a cat."

"You're still allergic to fur."

"And I'm still allergic to pollen but I have a bajillion plants in my room," Jeno gestures wildly, making Donghyuck remember that he has fifteen in his room alone. Duckie the succulent sits nice and pretty on Jeno's bedside table while Ole Kirk sits on the windowsill next to Juniper. "Your point?"

"Jen, these are succulents, they don't have pollen."

Jeno sighs. "I know."

Donghyuck laughs. "You really think I didn't look this up? After you got me to take care of two of my own?"

"I mean, after all the times you almost killed them, I thought you just kept them there because of me."

"Actually, yeah, you're mostly the reason why they're still there." Donghyuck's eyes soften as he looks at Jeno. Jeno is mesmerized by how Donghyuck's eyes look, still so sparkly and bewitching like they had been in the storeroom, like they've probably been all of their lives.

"Anyway," Donghyuck clears his throat and fiddles with his phone, "I have a surplus of love and there's not a lot of people who'll accept it without pushing me away, so I have to settle for torturing the theater peeps with it. Starting with Marcus, because he makes funny sounds when I try to kiss him."

"I don't think Marcus appreciates that. Or you calling him Marcus." Donghyuck's brilliant grin blinds him for a moment, and maybe it's what makes him say, "I could accept all that love on his behalf though. I'd be happy to have you cling on to me forever."

"You'll be regretting saying that in a second," Donghyuck warns as he pulls on Jeno's arm, tugging him into the bed and snuggling into his side.

Jeno runs a hand through Donghyuck's hair. "Trust me, I won't."

Donghyuck hums and nuzzles against Jeno's hand. "How will Jenjen survive when I finally get a boyfriend and deprive Jenjen of this abundance of affection?"

"Depends on the boyfriend. If it's someone Jenjen knows, they'll have to share you with Jenjen. Jenjen refuses to go a day without a Duckie Hug."

"And if you don't know who it is?" Donghyuck raises his head. "What will Jenjen do then?"

Jeno's hand stills. "I don't know." He lets his fingers trace Donghyuck's face. Donghyuck closes his eyes, leaning into his touch. "I have a feeling I know who it will be, though."

"Maybe you don't know him." Donghyuck pops one eye open to see Jeno's reaction. And in that moment, Jeno realizes that his decision to sit his feelings out is a terrible,  _ terrible _ idea, the worst one he's had yet. How could he when Donghyuck's looking at him like  _ that _ , with his eyes glittering with a secret, with endearment and fondness, with a sliver of hope. Hope for something more.

"Nonsense, Duckie." Jeno kisses the top of Donghyuck's head, a silent affirmation. They both already know who the lucky boyfriend will be; it's just a matter of how they'll address it.

"I think I'm the one who knows him best."

***

Jeno finds himself googling "how to confess to a dramatic person" after that day, but the search results aren't very helpful. They're cheesy and Jeno's skin crawls with the thought of doing those in public (his skin crawls with the thought of doing anything in public to be honest, but the dread is multiplied with Donghyuck's high standards promulgated by those romantic comedy plays by freaking  _ Shakespeare _ that Donghyuck likes so much for some reason). Jeno's not willing to hide his feelings until Valentine's Day, and he's not keen on getting the entire neighborhood and their mothers involved in his love life, so he decides on a small-ish scale confession, just between him and Donghyuck.

And Jaemin, of course. And Renjun. And Mark-hyung too, but only because he'd gotten tired of Donghyuck stealing kisses from him right in front of Wong Yukhei and had demanded for Jeno to confess before he does it for him.

He has it all planned, from what he's going to wear to what time he's going to show up in the auditorium so Doyoung-hyung can arrange his hair to what he's going to say. Now all that needs to happen is for the big day of their Wicked adaptation unveiling to come.

On the actual day itself, he doesn't see Donghyuck until the play starts. All he gets is a reply to the good luck message he sent him as soon as he woke up. There's a heart emoji at the end of Donghyuck's thank you message, which isn't unusual, but Jeno considers it his fuel for the day and his source of motivation as he stalks down to the best flower shop in town.

When nighttime falls, that's when Jeno starts to get nervous.

It's an hour till showtime and he's already sitting in the audience in a button-down shirt Donghyuck once said he looked good in and his nicest pants. The flowers are hidden somewhere by Doyoung so Donghyuck doesn't see, and people are slowly starting to flock inside the auditorium. Jeno has half a mind to check what's going on backstage and see if they need any help, but Doyoung fixes him with a look and texts him,  **If you even just consider doing something that ruins how put together you look and the way I styled your hair, I will not hesitate to tape you down to that chair.** It's the capitalization and the perfect punctuation that makes Jeno stay put and not the threat, because Doyoung loves him too much to destroy the plan Jeno had been cooking up for weeks. He texts Doyoung back with an affirmative and sends Donghyuck one last "you'll do well" text before stuffing his phone in his pocket.

When the lights dim and the curtain opens, the world shrinks to just Jeno and the stage. It's bewitching and elaborate and devastatingly lovely, and he can see all the effort they've put into this production. His gaze strays from the people manning the lighting and the sound effects to the exquisite backdrops and well-made props, and he lets his mind wander away from the plot of the story to the story of how the play was made, all of the work that was done in order to produce such a masterpiece. It's his last one, and he's proud to have been part of it.

But if the stage and effects designs were marvelous, the acting was so much more stellar.

Donghyuck and Renjun are seasoned, and it shows in how much dedication they give to their characters. They're not a perfect fit to their roles but they add their own little twists to it, attaching a part of themselves into every practiced line, every perfect note. Mark and Chenle and everyone else do well in following the pace Donghyuck and Renjun have set. (Renjun even dyed his hair blond to really embody Glinda.) Wicked is a classic, and the entire cast sets out to make the audience remember their version of it.

The night ends with a standing ovation and a cacophony of cheers, mixed with some sniffling from those who got teary-eyed and flashes from various cameras. Some of the actors are crying too, and there's so much emotion in the air that Jeno doesn't know how to feel. Is it pride for having accomplished such a feat, for pouring his four years of high school into the theatrical arts and not regretting a minute of it? Is it joy that their shows have become something that people genuinely enjoyed? Is it sadness that they won't be doing this anymore after tonight? Jeno doesn't know, but he makes his way backstage when the crowd starts to thin out in search for an answer in the form of Lee Donghyuck.

Doyoung stops him halfway and gives him the flowers he'd bought earlier, now tied with a glittery string as opposed to the simple ribbon the person behind the counter at the flower shop had used. Doyoung gives him a once-over, straightens his collar, pats down his hair, and tells him to keep him posted before he disappears. Jeno spots Mr. Byun off to the side of the stage talking to some people in extremely nice frocks and Mr. Byun smiles at him, nodding at the bouquet in his hands before he turns back to his company. Jeno takes a deep breath. He can do this.

Jeno steps backstage and is hit with a flurry of movement. He identifies the tornado as Chenle and Jisung, cackling about something Jeno does not want to find out about. They apologize briefly before directing their gazes to the mass in Jeno's arms, raising their brows in suspicion (and at the same time too) before telling him to break a leg and flouncing away.

Jeno blushes. Are his intentions really that obvious?

He notices Renjun, Jaemin, and Donghyuck huddled together in the most secluded corner, just like how Renjun said they would be. Donghyuck lets out a giggle at something Jaemin says, and Jeno does a double take. Does he look presentable enough? Is his hair sticking out funny? Maybe he should go find Doyoung-hyung to ask him to check one more time? Was the huge yellow bouquet overkill like Jaemin said?

" _ Should've made it green to match his face _ ," a voice that sounds oddly like Renjun says, and Jeno's not sure if it's Imaginary Renjun In His Head or Real Renjun In Front Of Him because both of those Renjuns are looking at Jeno funny, like he didn't imagine Jeno to show up with an assortment of all the yellow flowers he could find. Jeno reminds himself to get Renjun a bouquet for his birthday too, just for kicks.

Renjun says something to Donghyuck and Donghyuck closes his eyes, covering them with his hands. Renjun and Jaemin leave his side as planned and Jeno slowly approaches Donghyuck, stopping a short distance away.

Jeno steels himself for whatever happens next. Oh, well, you know what they say, go big or go home. And Jeno did not want to return home without a Donghyuck tonight, preferably a Donghyuck that is his boyfriend. He clears his throat loudly. "Hi Duckie."

"Jen!" Donghyuck removes his hands from his eyes, and his face lights up immediately at the sight of the flowers in Jeno's arms. "Are those for me?" Donghyuck makes grabby hands but Jeno doesn't give the flowers to Donghyuck yet, beckoning him to step closer instead. Once Donghyuck is right in front of him, with nothing but the ginormous flower arrangement between them, Jeno swings his arm and makes sure the flowers hit Donghyuck square in the face.

Donghyuck takes a step back, dazed by the sudden attack. When he's recovered from it he yanks the flowers from Jeno's grasp and whacks it against Jeno's face as well. "What the hell, Jen, that hurt!" Donghyuck exclaims as he rubs his nose, taking some of the green face paint away as he does. He looks like a disgruntled puppy while doing so and Jeno is reminded of their first meeting, back when Jeno described Donghyuck as some sort of weird mutt. That's not the case anymore, thank goodness for character development.

Jeno is startled out of his reverie when Donghyuck lightly smacks Jeno's face with the bouquet again. "Stop staring at me," Donghyuck grumbles as he scratches his very green neck. "It makes me feel ugly."

"In your defense, you're never ugly."

"I said that it makes me  _ feel _ ugly, I never said I actually was." Jeno rolls his eyes at Donghyuck's statement, and Donghyuck shifts the bouquet from one arm to another. "Is this really for me, though?" He asks, turning away from Jeno and bringing the flowers up to his face to take a big sniff, careful to get any pollen residue away from Jeno.

"Why are you so surprised? I always bring you flowers after your performances."

"Yeah, one stalk. This is a whole bouquet Jen, how much did this cost you?"

Jeno shrugs. "It's the last stage we'll ever put on in our high school lives, you deserve something extra special. And yes, I took my allergy medicine."

Donghyuck's grin turns devilish. "Something extra special, huh?"

Jeno backtracks. "On second thought, never mind, you did great but you always do amazingly so no need for a special anything, right? Let's go home, Duckie-"

"Noooo," Donghyuck whines as he puts the flowers down somewhere Jeno doesn't see and wraps both of his arms around Jeno's waist. "I want something extra,  _ extra _ special."

Jeno presses his lips together in mock dismay as he wraps his own arms around Donghyuck. "Fine, what is it?"

"A kiss." Galaxies are compressed into Donghyuck's gaze again, a billion stars twinkling. Stars just like Donghyuck himself. Shining, shimmering, splendid.

Jeno moves on autopilot, pressing his lips against the crown of Donghyuck's head. Donghyuck shakes his head and taps his lips with his finger. "Here."

"You're kidding."

Donghyuck's eyes are still glinting but the playfulness has departed, replaced by sincerity. "I'm not."

Jeno steps away from Donghyuck in surprise. In any other circumstance, Jeno would have done it without hesitation. But he's caught feelings, and kissing Donghyuck now would have a different meaning from if Donghyuck had asked a month earlier.

"Uhm." Jeno's left speechless. All he can think is that his plan? Destroyed. What little amount of confidence he had? Evaporated. All of his rational thought? Extinguished. 

Donghyuck huffs before stepping forward and enveloping Jeno in a hug again. "You don't have to. But it's been, what, how many years of this? And Jaemin let it slip that you were planning something tonight, so I was hoping...or maybe I got it all wrong?" Donghyuck pulls away while chewing on his bottom lip, obviously anxious. Jeno quickly latches on to his costume and pulls him back in his arms. He keeps Donghyuck at arms length as he starts blabbering.

"No, I really did have something planned! I just...can't talk right now? Because you're  _ green,  _ but you're still so pretty. And I like you. A lot. I don't know how else to say it, trust me I had a whole speech planned, I was even gonna describe the exact moment I fell for you and call your eyes stars or some shit-, wait no oh my god please pretend you didn't hear that-"

Donghyuck closes the distance between them and clings to Jeno. "You have quite a potty mouth, Jen." Jeno starts to blubber again but Donghyuck squeezes him to tell him to shut up. "I like you too. A lot. And I'm not gonna tell anyone, don't worry. The swearing thing, not the I like you thing, because I plan to tell the whole world that you're my boyfriend. Got that, Jen?"

"Noted with thanks," Jeno smiles as Donghyuck clings to Jeno tighter, careful to not get any of the green skin paint on Jeno's clothes because that will be a nightmare to get out. Jeno appreciates his thoughtfulness.

He lets out a deep exhale. "That was not the confession I was hoping for."

"Tell me about it, I was hoping for something a bit smoother."

"I tried! But you're distracting." Jeno pats Donghyuck's slicked-back hair. "Life would be so much easier with a script."

"I don't know Jen, I like to think that our lives actually do have a script, but that it's us ourselves who constantly write and rewrite it instead of waiting for it to just be handed to us. We are the masters of our fate, you know?"

"Woah, Duckie, when did you get so philosophical?"

Somehow Donghyuck has possession of the bouquet again, and he hits Jeno with it. "Shut up, this is what you get for not confessing earlier. I had to hang out with Mark-hyung instead."

"Duckie, you know I'm allergic," Jeno whines as he attempts to wrestle the flowers out of Donghyuck's hands.

"You drank your medicine right? It should be fine. Now, smooch me."

"I'm not gonna kiss you with green paint all over you."

Donghyuck snickers. "Because it would be like kissing one of your succulents?"

"Bold of you to assume that I don't kiss my succulents goodnight."

Donghyuck looks at him incredulously and Jeno laughs. "I'm kidding. I'll wait for you outside, we can have dinner and then I'll buy you some ice cream."

"What if I don't want ice cream? What if I want something sweeter?"

"Like what?"

"You," Donghyuck says cheekily. Jeno sighs a bit, dismayed by how cheesy their conversations are going to be from now on.

"You can have both, now hurry before they close the auditorium and we get accidentally locked in here."

"Do I get a kiss for being quick?"

"We'll see." Donghyuck runs off to the changing room soon after, some of the flower petals falling off as Donghyuck zooms away. The flowers are an absolute mess by the time Donghyuck finally steps outside the auditorium, paint-free and beaming at Jeno brightly. Jeno doesn't mind, but it makes him wonder if he should have just gotten Donghyuck a third succulent instead.

They eat dinner at a pizza place first before they head over to the nearest Dairy Queen. They engage in casual discussion about the play, but when Donghyuck gets some ice cream on his nose and Jeno kisses it away, Donghyuck leans in for an actual kiss and their conversation is long-forgotten. Much like their ice creams melting on the table.

Jeno doesn't mind having to clean up the messy table afterwards because they felt bad for whoever would have to clean it later. After all, Donghyuck was right; kisses are much, much sweeter than ice cream.

Donghyuck is a star, shining bright in the heavens. But he doesn't seem so far out of reach now, with his head nestled in the crook of Jeno's neck and his hand intertwined with his as they watch a Hamilton bootleg from some website called stagedork on Jeno's laptop.

Donghyuck's still a star, and he's still shining bright in the heavens, but Jeno doesn't feel like an outsider now, looking up to the sky and merely watching. Now, he feels like he's a star too, one that doesn't dazzle as much as Donghyuck does but with enough glitter to hold his own. Jeno's the star right next to Donghyuck, and together with their family and friends and the people who support them, they form the most marvelous constellation.

**Author's Note:**

> i just want to say that i am not a theater kid (way too shy lol) so some of these descriptions of drama club are probably very inaccurate, but musicals are very close to my heart and i wish i could have included more of them! i hope you enjoyed reading this fic as much as i enjoyed writing it!
> 
> @ prompter, this prompt gave me life and i'm sorry this might not have been what you were expecting but i hope you liked it anyway!


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